Keep those calls and texts going – your senators need your support to stand strong against a well-funded and persistent voucher lobby!
As we reported yesterday, HB 1902, a Children’s Promise Act voucher bill to fund private schools, was defeated in the Senate (see that vote), but it was held on a motion to reconsider, putting the bill back on the calendar and making it eligible for another vote.
This morning, Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, who is handling the bill, skipped it when it came up on the calendar the first time around but attempted to take it up prior to recessing for the day. Returning to a bill that has been skipped requires a 2/3 vote, which Chairman Harkins was unable to get today. This was a good sign that senators still are standing strong for public schools, but HB 1902 remains on the calendar and can be brought up tomorrow, the deadline for reconsideration.
Please keep calling, urging senators to VOTE NO on any bill that sends public money to private schools, whether through the Children’s Promise Act or any other means. Please be sure to thank the senators who voted no yesterday.
Ask your senator to
VOTE NO on reconsideration of HB 1902 (Children’s Promise Act)
Capitol Switchboard: 601.359.3770
(Open Mon. noon-5:00, Tues.-Thurs. 8:00-5:00, Fri. 8:00-noon)
Find additional contact information for legislators who represent your school district
Lt. Gov. Hosemann: 601.359.3200
Here are some facts about the Children’s Promise Act:
- the Children’s Promise Act is a type of voucher bill – it sends public money to private schools, which the law refers to as “educational services charitable organizations”
- this type of voucher works through dollar-for-dollar tax credits for donations to private schools, which cost “donors” nothing – they send money to private schools and get credit as if they paid their state taxes
- both corporations and individuals can get the voucher tax credits – corporations through corporate income tax credits and individuals through ad valorem tax credits
- current law says individuals can get the voucher credits only if they are not acting as a corporation; HB 1902 would allow one person to get voucher credits both as a corporation and as an individual, doubling the amount of public money a person can send to private schools without it costing him/her a penny
- the current cap on Children’s Promise Act voucher money for private schools statewide is $9-million annually, of which each school can get up to $405,000 annually
- a private school is eligible to receive the full $405,000 in public money if it enrolls one student who either: is in foster care OR is economically disadvantaged OR has a chronic illness or disability (a food allergy, ADHD, asthma); see which private schools got these public funds last year
- to participate, the private school sends a letter to the Department of Revenue describing how it qualifies; once approved, the school doesn’t have to reapply for 7 years, during which time no one checks to see if the school is actually enrolling any qualifying children
- there are no audits to determine how the private schools are spending our public money, no accountability for expenditures of public funds or the type of education provided, no oversight or requirements at all – quite different from what is required of public schools receiving public money
- “choice” isn’t a factor with the Children’s Promise Act; private schools have no obligation to accept even one new student in exchange for all the public funding streaming in
These Children’s Promise Act tax credit vouchers are the pet project of House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, who serves as vice president of the board at a private school. He has been relentless in his determination to increase the flow of public money to private schools through the Children’s Promise Act, inserting the language in no fewer than six bills that we know of so far this session, sometimes without the knowledge of other House members.
The remaining bills will almost certainly go to conference, where we will have to watch like hawks to ensure that increases in these Children’s Promise Act vouchers aren’t sneaked through the process.
Our public school children and teachers have worked so hard, adhering to extremely high accountability standards and earning Mississippi accolades from across the nation for their outstanding achievement. They are relying on us to protect their public schools and ensure that they are treated fairly. We owe them that.
Unfortunately, that means we have to fight the threats and pressure being hurled at Mississippi legislators from voucher lobbyists embedded in our state and funded by out-of-state billionaires. It is critical that our legislators know that we are paying attention, that we notice when they stand up for our public schools, and that we will have their backs when they do. Together, we’ve got this!
